Mechanism for slitting foil



De- 22, 1964 F. H. EMERSON r:a1-Al. 3,162,076 MECHANISM FOR ,SLITTING FOIL i A trok/vars Dec. 22, 1964 F. H. EMERSON ETAL 3,162,076

MEcHANxsM FOR SLITTING Fon.

Filed June 22, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1NVENT0R.5` FAPA/yc/S M EMfRSO/V 50M/HPO C. PHRAER United States Patent O 3,162,076 MECHANISM FR SLETTNG EGEL Francis H. Emerson, Betroit, Mich., and Edward C. Parker, 804 Barrington, Grosse Pointe, Mish.; said Emerson assigner to said Pariser Filed .Iune 22, 196i, Ser. No. 118,899 3 Claims. (Qi. 83-122) This invention relates to mechanism for slitting a thin sheet or lm of metal such as a metal foil, as for example aluminum foil.

More particularly it relates to improved apparatus for providing in a sheet of thin material such as a metal foil a succession of slits, preferably short length slits spaced apart by unbroken intervals between the slits and which slits are preferably uniform in dimension and spacing, all preparatory to expanding the slitted sheet into an expanding metal sheet wherein the openings or intervals of expansion correspond in dimension and uniformity and in angular disposition of the material at the edges of the openings.

An important characteristic of the slitted sheet produced by our apparatus is that it lends itself to the provision of uniformly spaced, similarly dimensioned expanded openings with similarly angularly disposed marginal edges adjacent to the openings.

Another object is the provision of suitable apparatus for slitting a sheet of thin metal foil as hereinabove set forth and accomplishing the same cheaply, expeditiously, and accurately.

A further object of this invention is the provision of suitable mechanism for carrying out the hereinabove specified purpose of the invention, which mechanism is simple, inexpensive, and does not require the services of an experienced machinist in its operation.

A meritorious feature of the invention is that the operation of slitting the sheet of foil as hereinabove described can be carried out rapidly as a continuous operation, the unslitted foil being unwound from a roll and passed through the machine and wound up on another roll after it has been slitted and as it leaves the machine, or the second and succeeding operation of expanding the slitted foil may be carried out.

Other objects, advantages and meritorious features will more fully appear from the following specification, claims, and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a side elevation of the machine partly broken away to show the mounting for the cooperating rolls.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of one of the knives with which the slitting roll is provided.

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FlG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view through adjacent portions of the cooperating rolls, showing the disposition of the knives in the slitting roll and the provision of the penetrable anvil face of the pressure roll.

FIG. 5 is a perspective of a fragment of a sheet following slitting of the same.

The apparatus employed to carry out the slitting of the sheet of foil is illustrated as consisting of a slitting roll indicated as cooperating with the pressure roll 12. These rolls are rotatably supported as illustrated. There is a foundation or base plate 14 to which opposed end plates 16 are secured by screws 18. These end plates carry ball-bearing shaft supporting means 20.

The roll 10 is provided with axle or shaft portions 22. This shaft is supported within ball-bearing means 20. The outer end of the shaft threadedly receives a retaining nut 24. There is a cover or retaining plate 26 supported upon the shaft between the nut land the ball-bearing means. Suitable bearing retaining rings 2S lare mounted within the end plate 16 and held thereto by screws 3i).

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In FIG. l one end of the machine is cut away to disclose the mounting for the bearings. The opposite end of the shaft is similarly supported.

The roll 10 which is the slitting roll is shown in fragmentary cross-section in FIG. 4 and its periphery is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced axially extending slots .32. Each of these slots is of a size to receive a slitting knife bar 34. The knife bar comprises a linearly spaced succession of knife sections or portions 36. These are illustrated as spaced endwise from one another by notches 38 as shown particularly in FIG. 2. The slots 32 in the slitting roll are each adapted to receive one of these bars and the same may be held in place by being glued or otherwise secured in position so that when desired a knife bar may be removed for substitution of a sharp knife in place of a dull one or any other purpose. The slitting roll is provided With these slots throughout its circumference and the knives are disposed therein as shown in FIG. 4. Obviously knives might be positioned at desired spaced distances. The knives are so disposed as to project radially beyond the surface of the roll suiciently to penetrate through a sheet of foil and to penetrate into the rubber circumferential face of the companion pressure roll. Succeeding knives are disposed so that the knife portions 36 are staggered as illustrated in the slits produced by the knives as shown in FIG. 5.

The companion pressure roll is carried by the head of the machine frame which is shown as comprising opposed end blocks 4t). Each of these end blocks 4t) carries a bearing assembly 42. The axle or shaft 44 of the pressure roll 12 is supported as shown within the bearing and projects therebeyond and is tted with a retaining nut 46. There is a retainer plate or cover 48 which is mounted upon the shaft as illustrated land the bearing is held in the end standard of the frame by retainer elements Sil secured in place by screws 52.

The roll 12 which is mounted on the shaft 44 is shown as provided with a compressible, knife-penetrable, circumferential anvil-like face 54. This may be formed of rubber Ior the like as shown in FIG. 4. The rubber is of a hardness sucient to serve the purposes of a supporting anvil which will support the metal foil and urge it downwardly onto the knives of the slitting roll. The rubber facing, however, is sufficiently readily penetrable by the knives to permit them to penetrate through the foil and into the facing to drive the companion roll 12. Normally the companion roll is an idler roll except as driven by the knives of the slitting roll. The slitting roll itself is adapted to be driven by a motor or any other suitable power device 56. There is a suitable releasing coupling arrangement 58 whereby the motor may be coupled directly to the shaft of the slitting roll and which may incorporate change of speed mechanism if desired. Shims 41 may be provided as desired and placed between upper and lower frame members 40 and 1e as appears in FIG. 3. Through this means the spacing between the slitting roll and the pressure roll may be regulated to accommodate for different thickness of foil and extent of penetration of knives into the rubber facing as is desired.

The sheet of foil itself may be fed from the roll 59 suitably supported for unwinding rotation. The foil is indicated by the numeral 60. It is shown in FIG. 3 as being passed between the rolls and taken off on the opposite side 'of the machine and wound up on a suitable roll 62 by any suitable mechanism.

To facilitate stripping the foil from the knives a stripper plate 64 is shown in FIG. 4 and also in FIG. 3. This stripper plate 64 is secured to a block d by screws 70 as shown in FIG. 3. This block 68 is held to the base 14 by screws 72 as shown in FIGS. l and 3. The knives 34 are so mounted within the slots 'of the slitting roll as to 3 project beyond such roll a/distance sulcient to penetrate through the foil and enter the rubber circumferential facing 54 of the companion roll as hereinabove described. For example, the coil sheet may'have a thickness of .003

andthe knives might project sulciently beyond the suri `face "of the 'slitting roll toV extend through the foil and A penetrate into the rubber facing to a distance of .002 or The'foil is withdrawn from fthe unwinding `roll by its 'engagement withthe knives and the companion roll is kdriven bythe knives.

T heslits which are formed in the foil consist of a plurality of slits arranged kpreferablyrin rows. Preferably the several vslits are of an'equaldirnension and uniformlyspacedapart inthe rows. The rows Vare also preferably uniformlyvspaced. Thisis for the purpose of ensuring lthat when the slitted .foil is expanded the openings formedwtherethrough will Vbe vof uniform dimension andspacing. FG. 5 shows such slits indicated as '72 spaced apart endwise byunbrokenfoil portion 74 and spaced apart inthef succession of rows by foil intervals which are unbroken except for the slits.

Following slitting the foil may be passed to aroll 62 ,upon which "it is wound or it maybe-otherwise utilized.

Theroll V62 is an idler roll and there is a driven roll 76 vvcarried by. the swinging .arm '778, which driven roll is held by spring 80. against the slitted vfoil wound upon the roll This roll v76 maybe coupled withfthe roll 10 to be driventherewith to drive the roll 62 'through the foil Vbeing wound thereon.

rows axially of the roll, the knives in successive rows being staggered circumferentially of the roll, a companion roll supported for rotation generally in parallelism with the slitting roll and spaced therefrom a distance less than the projecting distance of the knives beyond the surface of the slitting roll, the outer circumferential face of the companion roll being penetrable by the knives of the slitting roll, said companion roll being responsively rotatable upon penetration of its surface by the knives of the rotating slitting roll.

2. Apparatus for slitting a linear sheet of metal foil as deiined in claim 1 wherein the knives in one row are so staggered with respect tothe knives of the preceding row that the spaces between the knives in one row are overlapped by the knives in the succeeding row and the knives in said succession of rows extend axially for the entire length of the slitting roll whereby the margins of the sheet of `foil are slitted.

y3. Apparatus for slitting alinear sheet of metal foil as defined in claim 1 characterized in that means is provided adjacent to the slitting rolland extending axially thereof and spaced therefrom to engage and detach that portion of thesheet of foil whichhas been penetrated and picked up by the knives of the slitting roll and is being advanced thereby' from said knives.

References Cited by fthe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ANR'EW R. JUHAVSZ, Primary Examiner. CARL w. TOMLIN, Examinar. 

1. APPARATUS FOR SLITTING A LINEARLY EXTENDING SHEET OF METAL FOIL TO PROVIDE THEREIN CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED APART ROWS OF SHORT LENGTH SLITS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THEREOF COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A ROTATABLY SUPPORTED SLITTING ROLL PROVIDED WITH A SUCCESSION OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED APART ROWS OF SHORT LENGTH SLITTING KNIVES EXTENDING GENERALLY AXIALLY OF THE ROLL AND PROJECTING RADIALLY THEREBEYOND, SAID KNIVES BEING SPACED APART WITHIN THE ROWS AXIALLY OF THE ROLL, THE KNIVES IN SUCCESSIVE ROWS BEING STAGGERED CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF THE ROLL, A COMPANION ROLL SUPPORTED FOR ROTATION GENERALLY IN PARALLELISM WITH THE SLITTING ROLL AND SPACAED THEREFROM A DISTANCE LESS THAN THE PROJECTING DISTANCE OF THE KNIVES BEYOND THE SURFACE OF THE STILLING ROLL, THE OUTER CIRCUMFERENTIAL FACE OF THE COMPANION ROLL BEING PENETRABLE BY THE KNIVES OF THE SLITTING ROLL, SAID COMPANION ROLL BEING RESPONSIVELY ROTATABLE UPON PENETRATION OF ITS SURFACE BY THE KNIVES OF THE ROTATING SLITTING ROLL. 